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University of Utah on lockdown after report of shooting

The Latest: Suspect was a sex offender

Posted: 10:25 PM, Oct 22, 2018

Updated:2018-10-24 00:39:45Z

Records show a man accused of killing a female University of Utah student on campus was a registered sex offender who spent nearly a decade in prison after pleading guilty to trying to lure an underage girl online.

12:15 p.m.

Records show a man accused of killing a female University of Utah student on campus was a registered sex offender who spent nearly a decade in prison after pleading guilty to trying to lure an underage girl online.

Former prosecutor Paul Amann said Tuesday that 37-year-old Melvin Rowland was caught in an online sex crimes sting when a police officer posed as a 13-year-old girl, and after he was charged a woman reported he had sexually assaulted her after another online meeting.

Records show Rowland was released from prison in 2013 after spending nine years behind bars.

Police say he shot and killed 21-year-old student Lauren McCluskey late Monday. Her mother says she dumped him when she learned about his criminal history.

Authorities say Rowland later killed himself.

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10:25 a.m.

The University of Utah police chief says a female student who was fatally shot on campus by a man she dated had filed a complaint against him earlier this month.

Chief Dale Brophy said Tuesday that Lauren McCluskey had filed a police report on Oct. 12 against Melvin Rowland.

Brophy said investigators had been working to build a case, but he declined to disclose details.

The victim's mother, Jill McCluskey, says her daughter filed a harassment complaint after she broke up with Rowland.

Salt Lake City police say the 37-year-old Rowland killed himself overnight at a church after police tracked him down after the shooting.

Lauren McCluskey was a 21-year-old senior track athlete and communication major from Pullman, Washington. Her body was found in a car near a campus medical facility.

Jill McCluskey says in a statement that her daughter dated Rowland for about a month then ended the relationship on Oct. 9 when she learned he had lied about his age, name and criminal history.

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6:55: a.m.

University of Utah officials have identified a female student fatally shot on campus Monday night as a senior track athlete and communication major from Pullman, Washington.

Separate statements released by university President Ruth Watkins and Athletic Director Mark Harlan identified the victim as Lauren McCluskey and expressed sadness and shock over her killing.

Police said previously that Melvin Rowland, the man suspected of killing McCluskey and ex-boyfriend of hers, was found dead in an off-campus church early Tuesday.

Watkins said McCluskey was "a highly regard member of the university's track and field team, and an outstanding scholar, a senior majoring in communication."

The university canceled classes Tuesday and a campus vigil for McCluskey is scheduled at 5 p.m.

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5 a.m.

The man suspected of shooting and killing a University of Utah student has been found dead, KUTV reported.

Police tracked down the man, identified as Melvin Rowland, who authorities say shot a female student on campus just before 10 p.m. Monday. The student has not been identified.

Police followed Rowland into a church after he was spotted near 600 South 200 East in Salt Lake City at about 1 a.m. Tuesday, University of Utah Police Lt. Brian Wahlin told KUTV.

Wahlin said Rowland's body was found in the church.

The University of Utah also tweeted that Rowland had been located and was "no longer a threat."

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12:25 a.m.

The University of Utah says it has lifted the lockdown of the campus after a fatal shooting.

The university imposed the lockdown shortly before 10 p.m., after the body of a female student was found in a car near the medical towers.

Police continue to search for a man they say shot and killed the student. Police said the man is 37 years old, roughly 6 foot, 3 inches tall and weighs 250 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray beanie, black pants, white shoes and a white hoodie.

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11:35 p.m.

Police are searching for a man they say shot and killed a University of Utah student outside of a dormitory on campus, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

University of Utah Police Lt. Brian Wahlin says the female student's body was found about 9 p.m. in a car near the medical towers, the Tribune reports. Wahlin says the man they are searching for and the student had "a previous relationship."

Police said the man is 37 years old, roughly 6 foot, 3 inches tall and weighs 250 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray beanie, black pants, white shoes and a white hoodie.

Wahlin says dozens of police officers on campus had the situation under control, the Tribune reports.

"We've got the campus secure at this point in time," he told reporters shortly after 11 p.m.

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11:14 p.m.

The University of Utah campus is on lockdown after a shooting.

The university announced on its Twitter account that a shooting took place shortly before 10 p.m. It told people on the campus to shelter in place.

The university says police are looking for the suspect. The university described the suspect as a black man, 37 years old, 6-foot, 3 inches, 250 pounds, wearing a gray beanie, black pants, white shoes and a white hoodie. He was last seen on foot leaving north from the university's medical towers.

Police are searching the campus for the suspect.

Last month, an ex-convict pleaded guilty to killing a University of Utah student from China using a gun stolen after another slaying. Austin Boutain, 24, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

He and his wife were charged with hatching a carjacking plot that led to the October 2017 death of Chenwei Guo, whose parents live in Beijing and were devastated over the death of their only son at age 23.

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